“That’s good,” he said. Danica nodded.
We settled on American Pie as the movie of the night. I didn’t want to stay but Jordan asked me to and I gave in. What can I say, I’m a martyr.
Danica walked into the room with a bowl of popcorn and her box of truffles. She handed the bowl to Jordan who dug in as if he hadn’t just eaten a full meal and gone for seconds. Where in the hell did the kid put it all?
“That’s for you too. I suggest you get your fill before he eats it all. That was the last bag.” She pointed to Jordan. “And this,” she shook her box of truffles and plopped down between Jordan and me, “is for me!” Her beaming smile made me chuckle.
“And how am I supposed to get to the popcorn now?” I asked.
“You should have thought about that before I sat down.” She popped a treat in her mouth, turned my way and smiled with her lips sealed, making her cheeks bulge. I shook my head at her and returned her smile.
“Here you go!” Jordan passed the bowl no more than fifteen minutes into the movie. I looked down to find not even a handful left of the stuff. I leaned forward and looked at him in disbelief.
“I told you,” she teased.
I grumbled. “Give me one of those.” I reached for her chocolates but she slapped my hand away.
“Ask nice and maybe you’ll get one.” She smirked. This picture was quite reminiscent of the old days.
“Pretty please?”
“Shh! Guys, I’m trying to watch the movie,” Jordan whined. Danica shook her head, indicating the negative my way.
“Pretty, pretty please?” I whispered, leaning into her ear. Her smile broadened but she shook her head again, her face still facing the screen. “You’re forcing my hand here,” I warned. “I’ll tickle you for it!”
Squealing, she set her box down and jumped up and darted over Jordan’s legs which were up on the coffee table. Pleased with myself, I leaned forward, grabbed a truffle and popped it in my mouth before leaning back and crossing an ankle over a knee.
“Hey, give it back!” she said.
“Mmm…” I smacked my lips after swallowing the treat. “As good as I remember but I think I ate one of your favorites.”
“Not the caramel!”
“Guys!” Jordan looked up with exasperation.
I waved for Danica to come and sit back down, handing her the box of chocolates as a peace offering. When she sat with her gift on her lap, I leaned in. “I would never eat your caramel ones, Nica, that’s just not right.”
Rolling her eyes, she said, “Ever the gentleman.” Next thing I knew, she held a truffle to my mouth and smiled. “Here.” She didn’t have to tell me twice. I took it from her, careful not to bite her fingers. As I bit into it, my eyes widened and I looked at her — caramel. “It’s the last one. I know they’re your favorite too,” she said and brushed her lips against mine so quick that I’d almost missed her sweet move. “Thank you for today.”
I was speechless so I nodded. She’d kissed me with her son in the room. Then again, I think it was safe to say that Jordan was so far into the movie that a bomb could have gone off and he wouldn’t have budged.
Danica straightened herself and turned to watch the movie as if nothing had happened.
Over my shock, I wrapped an arm around the back of the couch and settled in for the rest of the show.
Chapter 31
When the movie ended, I turned to find Jordan smirking at me. Slumped into the crook of my arm, Danica was asleep.
“What?” I asked at a whisper so as not to wake her.
“You like her,” he said.
“Of course I like her,” I said, “she’s a friend.”
He snorted. “She likes you a lot, you know.” His eyes cast themselves downward with a solemn look. “Don’t tell her this but she doesn’t know I could hear her at night when she went to bed and cried herself to sleep. Since we’ve moved, she hasn’t done that.”
“Are you sure it’s not because Bruce is gone?” I asked.
Jordan shook his head. “At first I thought it was because he was never home,” he started, “but then I caught her in the bathroom down the hall after he’d been home and gone to bed.” He seemed to be pondering something and then his eyes shifted and narrowed on me but those green eyes danced. “I think it’s more than that. And I think you have something to do with it.”
Jordan helped me get his mother to her bed. Leaving her in her clothes, I draped the covers over her and kissed her forehead. She grabbed my shirt and pulled me toward her. I braced myself just in time with an arm on either side of her so I wouldn’t crush her. I heard snickering from behind me.
I mouthed an, “It’s not funny,” over my shoulder.
“Jacob,” she whispered in a dream-like state. My head snapped to look at her. She was still asleep but she was mumbling. I leaned in closer to hear what she was saying and felt her nuzzle my cheek. “I can’t do this alone, Jacob. I need…” Then she fell silent.
When her hands released me, I stood and she rolled onto her side, settling in with a peaceful sigh.
I brushed a wayward lock of hair out of her face. “I’m right here,” I said.
Turning to leave, I realized I’d forgotten all about Jordan but the kid no longer stood in the doorway. I shut Danica’s bedroom door and breathed a sigh of relief when I saw the light on at the other end of the hall where I presumed was Jordan’s bedroom. The door shut, I knocked.
“Come in.”
I pushed inward and peered inside. “Nice room.” I admired the slew of sport and gaming paraphernalia plastered to his walls.
“Thanks.”
“I’m heading out now,” I said. “Lock the door?”
“Yeah,” he said. He seemed distracted but I didn’t want to pry. He’d been good at coming to me when he needed to talk. I turned to leave.
“Jake?” He caught up with me when I was at the front door.
“Yeah?”
He walked up to me, stopping about a foot away. “Thanks for today.”
I smiled. “You’re welcome, kid.” Next thing I knew, he threw himself at me, wrapped his arms around my waist. By the time my arms came around to return his gesture, he released me. What just happened? My voice gave away my failed machismo with a shaky, “G-goodnight.”
“Goodnight, Jacob.” I heard the laughter in his words.
“It’s Jake!” I said as I walked to my car.
“Hey!” I turned to face him with the drivers’ side door open. “I get your parents, but why my mom?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “She’s just special, I guess.” His chin jutted out in an understanding gesture. “Goodnight, Jordan.”
He smirked from the doorway. “Later, hot shot.”
“And lock that door,” I said.
He rolled his eyes. “Yes, Dad.”
I knew that he was using the dad word in a sarcastic manner when he said it but with each subsequent time, I found that I liked hearing it, along with his calling me hot shot. A lot. Maybe too much.
I let out a short laugh and shook my head. You, a family man? The idea, where a month ago seemed preposterous, had grown on me. Jordan was the source of that change, of that I was sure. Okay, maybe it was also the fact that he was Danica’s son and at one point — one I was willing to acknowledge — I had pictured us having a family together.
I knew that Jordan wanted a father or at least, some kind of male figure he could bond with. It was in his eyes. If that wasn’t proof enough, it was in the way he came to me when he couldn’t go to his mother or any other member of his family. Most of all, it was in the way he hugged me tonight. He may have been a typical macho teenager, but deep inside, the child in him screamed for a man to be in his life in a consistent manner.
I made my decision as I pulled up my driveway. The sooner I found out about Jordan being my son or not, the sooner we could all move on.
Tomorrow, I would go and enjoy myself at Pax’s and on Sunday, it was time Danica and I
cleared the air.
As I unlocked my front door, Paxton’s voice played about in my head, reminding me that I had a few things to tell her on top of finding out how she felt about me and one request that could alter our life forever.
Chapter 32
I was a little late showing up at Paxton’s. My feet stopped dead in their tracks the moment I made it out to the patio and found Danica sitting beside Alissa, hands animated as they talked about something and then I caught the word baby.
Pax elbowed me. “Don’t listen to them.”
“Jake!” Alissa got up and I met her halfway for a hug. “You look,” she eyed me from head to toe and back again, “better.”
“Thanks.” I offered her a soft laugh. “Where’re the kids?” I asked, missing my usual leg tackle from Jasper.
“Jasper’s at his mom’s,” Pax said over his shoulder as he tried to fire up the barbecue.
“And Jordan’s spending the night at Trevor’s.” Danica smiled and babbled on. “I’m glad he’s made a friend so quick but it’d be nice if he put as much excitement into his house chores as he does socializing and sports.”
“Don’t forget girls,” I added and leaned on the patio’s ledge beside Pax. Her gaze snapped to me. “What? Don’t tell me you didn’t know that your son has a penchant for cheerleaders?”
She huffed. “The short skirts, the lack of underwear, the slutty nature. All I need is for him to fall for one of those floozies.”
Pax laughed but I felt myself grow defensive. My body stiffened. “I fell for one of those once or don’t you remember? She sure as hell wasn’t a floozy or a skank.” I held Danica’s gaze with mine. Paxton’s laugh halted and Alissa leaned forward in her chair, biting back a smile. “She was my tutor, my best friend, and if you’d asked me at sixteen, who I was going to marry…”
“He’d have said Heidi Klum.” Pax gave me a shit-eating grin. I turned to him and slapped the back of his head before moving to the patio’s railing and leaning back on it. “Hey!” Alissa was giggling like a school girl and Danica graced me with a shy smile before casting her eyes downward.
“Needless to say, don’t sell your boy short,” I added. “He’s a smart kid and a good judge of character.”
Our eyes remained fused to each other’s until Paxton broke the silence. “Hey, Jake?”
“Yeah?” I turned from the ladies to him.
“You think you can run to the barn and grab the extra propane tank from the closet by the ladder to the loft?”
“No prob.”
I was rummaging through the closet, the blasted propane tank evading my detection.
Okay, so I was preoccupied. I don’t know what possessed me to be so defensive earlier nor why I felt compelled to spill my guts in front of my best friend, his wife, and most of all, Danica.
“What’s taking you so long?” I heard, making me jump and hit my head on a shelf. Falling forward, everything collapsed over and around me. “Oh shit, Jacob!”
I groaned, reaching up for my head, shaking it to rid it of spots floating across my vision. “Fuck, that hurt.” I groaned.
Danica rushed to me and started pulling things off of my back so I could turn around. She tried to help me up but I ended up pulling on her hand before she had the chance to brace herself, sending her toppling on top of me with a shriek of surprise.
“Oh my God, Jacob! Are you okay?” Her deer in the headlights expression was so priceless that I started to laugh a full out belly laugh.
“Leave it up to you to get me injured,” I began. “At least there’s no need for me to worry about getting sacked this time.” She blushed at my mention of the championship football game where she first told me she loved me.
Her forehead hit my chest and she sighed. The moment for laughing had passed when she fisted my shirt. “Nica…” I whispered. She trembled when I ran a hand up the middle of her back. Backing away, she kept her head bowed and her loose hair curtained her face, shielding me from it.
“Here.” She stood up and presented her hand. This time, I managed to get up. “Sit down.” She nodded toward the small stack of hay bales beside us and I did as I was told.
She rummaged through the rubble on the floor. “What are you doing here?” I asked and at the same moment, she pulled out a first aid kit from the mess.
“Pax asked me to come and check on you. You’ve been gone for fifteen minutes.” She popped the kit down beside me on the bale and opened it.
“Really?”
“Mmm,” she said, pulling out gauze and an alcohol swab and began dabbing my forehead. “It’s just a scratch.” I winced at the burning sensation the swab had brought. “Man up, you big baby.” She smirked, keeping her eyes on the injury above my forehead. “Did you mean that?” Her hands ran through my hair, looking for any other injury or bump.
“Mean what?” I asked, playing stupid, forgetting that she could read me like a book. She bent forward, cupping my jaw and eyeing everything on my face except my eyes.
“Jacob, you know what,” she said with an air of annoyance.
I bit my lip. “Yeah, I did.” Taking a deep breath, I continued. “And I need to ask you something.”
“Then ask.”
“I want us to run a paternity test on Jordan.” She pulled back, shrank down to her knees in front of me and looked away. That curtain of hair occluded her face again. I leaned forward and pushed it to the side, tucking it behind her ear. “Hey,” I said, “I don’t care what it says, all right? I haven’t had very long to process things but if he’s mine, I couldn’t be happier.”
She looked up at me and a single tear fell down her cheek. “And what if he isn’t?” she whispered and her eyes were aimed to something past my shoulder. “I-I don’t know if I could handle it Ja…”
“I hadn’t thought that far yet,” I said, “but I’d hope that I could still be in his life somehow.”
Her eyes came back to me. “But why… why would you want anything to do with me? With everything I put you through…” She took a fortifying breath. “Paxton told me earlier this afternoon. I know what happened with you, after I left. I get it now, why you were so hostile when I came back to town. I understand your question from two nights ago, and I know you wanted me for sex.” Her voice cracked with tears.
“Whoa, hold on a minute!” I shot up to my feet, almost knocking her off her knees and onto her ass. “I never said I wanted you for sex.” It came out a little louder than anticipated. “I never signed up for a fuck buddy nor have I ever wanted to play games with you. In fact, you made it happen, both times! Sure I went for it…I’m a guy!”
“Did you know that when you told me you loved me for the first time, I was ready to call it a day and make you my forever? You said you spoke to Pax earlier. Do you really understand what your leaving did to me?” I asked.
She shook her head, silent tears cascading down her face. I wanted to brush them away but I held back. This was my time to come clean, my time to paint the vivid picture of my side of things, much like she had done with giving me hers two days before.
“The day you left, the day Paxton came to tell me you were gone, was the worst day of my life. I loved you!” She whimpered at my words. “I went to find you. I saw the movers.” I swallowed the lump that had grown in my throat. “For so long, I waited for the day you called, wrote, or came back but you never did.”
“Jacob…”
“I tried to get over you. I tried to forget you. I even tried a relationship, once, but I couldn’t do it. So, I stuck to servicing my needs instead. That’s why Nikki thinks of me the way she does. But despite your best friend’s opinion of me, you came to me. You turned those blue eyes my way and used your charms and I’ve never been able to say no to you.” I ran my hands through my hair and fisted it.
“At first, I thought that I wanted what you did — a roll in the hay, no pun intended.” I nodded at the bales behind me. “But later that night, I did something I haven’t done since high school,
since you and I were together. I let a woman spend the night.” I closed my eyes and reopened them to focus on her tear-stained face. “I let you spend the night with me, Nica, and the next morning, you were gone with a note stating that it had been amazing. I felt used because amazing deserves the woman to be there in the morning. Amazing deserves a simple wake up call if the woman needs to leave. That’s the moment where everything changed for me.” I took a deep breath. “No one’s made me feel that way before.
“The second time around, I gave in because I didn’t want to stop at the one night. I fucked up by letting it happen. The punch to the gut was when you said that it had been fun. It became clear to me that that night meant more to me than it did to you. It solidified the fact that you wanted a fuck buddy but I can’t be that guy for you. It’s why I got mad and left.”
I paused to gather up my breath, my ass falling back onto the bale but I was far from finished. “You...”
“I never wanted that kind of relationship either,” she whispered.
“Then why didn’t you say anything?” I asked, my voice hoarse. “Would it have been so hard to tell me that you wanted more or that you wanted to be friends?”
“I did,” she said, “at Fairfax, remember?” She did. “When you didn’t go for it, I tried a different approach. I never expected it to go that far.”
My brow arched. “You mean you accidentally seduced me?”
“Well… that’s…” She sighed. “I figured that if we connected on a physical sense, that maybe you’d talk to me. Once I started, all I wanted was to wrap myself around you and never let go. Everything from fifteen years ago came crashing back.” She wiped at the tears on her cheeks. “I still love you, Jacob, I always have.” She shrugged her shoulders and shook her head.
She stood and turned to leave but paused after a few steps. Keeping her back to me, she said, “I’ve always been happiest here. After fifteen years, it took my son trying to get to know me to make me remember that. This is my home, Jacob… you, Jordan, Nicki, Pax, and now, Alissa and Jasper too. You’re my home and if I have to settle for living in the same city and sharing friends, then I will.
Almost Forgotten (Contemporary Erotic Romance) (The Broken Men Chronicles Book 2) Page 12
